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I want to connect my Cerbo to my main network router in the boat. Wifi works but not as robust. All the doc I’ve read suggests just Cat6 cable would be ok; it’s a 25’ run. But at that length Cat 8 is almost as cheap. Is there any advantage to using Cat8? Or is there somehow even some disadvantage? Thx.
You can use CAT8 if you want to but there are no advantages. The link will still negotiate at 100Mbps.
K, thx. If there are no advantages I’ll maybe just go with Cat 6.
I have 2 MPPT -CAN that lost sometimes BMS connection. In same installation is a MPPT-ve-direct with NO problem.
I thinking maybe the CAT5e cable pick up EMI noise.
I like to test with shielded cat7.
Is the shield from the cat7 cable in Victron MPPT automatically connected to a Negative?
Or do I need to bring the shield outside the RJ45 and connect to negative?
I hope someone can answer this, because without proper connection from the shield problem can get worse.
MPPT with VE.Direct and VE.Can is no problem in the same installation.
How long are the cables to the VE.Can MPPTs? Do you have the terminators at each end of the cable?
Canbus is pretty resilient, also a differential signal and designed to operate in noisy environments.
The 8P8C connectors of the VE.Can devices are not sheilded, you would need to break out the shield, but I'm not sure that this will solve the problem.
If noise was a big problem, you would notice it on VE.Direct devices first.
The cable to the VE.CAN mppt is only 3mtr. to secound mppt is 0.5mtr.
The CAN network is terminated at both ends of the network
I have only a few times the 2 mppt connected with ve-can stopped working.
Mppt connected with ve-direct keeps working at that time.
The error was lost BMS. At time off error I have checked the ve-direct mppt, this was still under "external control", and working correctly.
Any other suggestion, why these 2 mppt could have stopped working?
CAT-5 should be sufficient for 100 Mb. Anything "better" should work but as stated previously, no advantages.
Personally, I use CAT-6 UTP for all my network connections so I only need to deal with one cable type and one connector type.
Think about the physical size of the cat 8 as well. I shot myself in the foot going up a cat and found the cabling too thick.
